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Travis County proclaims April 2025 Sexual Assault Awareness Month; SART urges ongoing coordination
Summary
The Commissioners Court approved a proclamation recognizing April 2025 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and heard remarks from survivors and advocates urging continued coordination and survivor-centered services.
Travis County Commissioners unanimously approved a proclamation on April 8 designating April 2025 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and received remarks from members of the Austin-Travis County Sexual Assault Response and Resource Team (SART) and advocates.
Marcy Alonzo, coordinator for the Austin-Travis County SART, described SART as a collaboration of law enforcement victim-service personnel, forensic nurses, community advocates and district attorney's office partners who coordinate responses to adult sexual assault. "We see the impact of this crime daily, and we know that awareness is a critical first step to prevention and healing," Alonzo said.
Public comments included testimony from a public survivor and an attorney offering resources. Hannah Sanko, speaking as a public survivor and advocate, said the proclamation must be paired with action: "This month and every day, we must believe survivors, support those who are healing, educate ourselves and work together to dismantle the systems that enable sexual violence," she said. Shelly Edgar, managing attorney for the Legal Aid for Survivors of Sexual Assault program at Texas Legal Services Center, noted free legal help is available and gave a statewide hotline number for survivors seeking assistance.
Judge Andy Brown and commissioners thanked SART members and advocates for their work. The court approved the proclamation unanimously. The proclamation text cited local statistics and commitments to training, coordination and survivor support but did not authorize new funding at the April 8 session.
Speakers encouraged the public to use community resources referenced during remarks and to support SART's collaborative work to improve survivor outcomes.
